Walnuts

My favorite nut of them all, walnuts come in several varieties and have a earthy, fruity, and tart taste to them. Roasted or raw, they make a great addition to salads, pancakes, oats, granola, muffins, cookies, coconut yogurt, and desserts.

  • Walnuts are bursting with anti-inflammatory antioxidants, and include some key phytonutrients found in virtually no other foods! (quinone juglone to be specific!)
  • Make sure to eat the skin, as 90% of the amazing antioxidants in walnuts are found there.
  • Walnuts are a rich source of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and are an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids – both of which help to prevent a wide variety of cardiovascular problems including heart disease and high blood pressure.
  • Have you ever noticed that walnuts look like tiny human brains? Turns out, they may be good for your brains too! All the Vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and melatonin in walnuts support brain health and may also enhance motor functioning in aging adults.
  • Five large human studies, which looked at how disease spreads and can be controlled, estimated that substituting nuts for the same amount of carbohydrates in an average diet resulted in a 30% reduction in heart disease risk. A reduction of 45% occurred when fat from nuts was substituted for saturated fats, which are found primarily in meat and dairy products.
  • Walnuts contain arginine, an essential amino acid that is converted into nitric oxide in the bod. Nitric oxide enables blood vessels to relax, therefore improving blood flow and preventing platelet aggregation.

Vegukate Tips:

Store shelled or unshelled walnuts in an airtight container in the refrigerator for six months, or in the freezer for up to a year. Walnuts are also highly perishable. Do the sniff test if your walnuts seem suspect: if they have a paint-like odor, they’ve gone rancid and need to be tossed.